Astronomers Discover Ancient Stars Moving Against Milky Way's Flow

MIT researchers identify three 12 to 13 billion-year-old stars in the Milky Way's halo, revealing insights into early galaxy formation.

The stars, dubbed SASS stars, are believed to have originated from small, primitive galaxies absorbed by the Milky Way.
These stars are among the oldest known, dating back to just 1-2 billion years after the Big Bang.
Their unique retrograde motion and low metal content helped researchers identify them.
The discovery was made through the MIT Observational Stellar Archaeology course using data from the Magellan-Clay telescope.
The findings suggest more ancient stars may be hidden in the Milky Way, offering a 'fossil record' of galactic evolution.